Manzanita wood/wax
My art is a personal statement of my life experiences as a woman. I want my sculptures to depict the strength that it takes to be a woman in today’s society.
For centuries women have been judged as second-class citizens. Since the Women’s Suffrage Movement, women have fought for equality in every aspect of life. They have been expected to fit a specific mold of the “perfect” woman through cultural conditioning from the media and advertising as well as what is considered the society “norm.” It is time to break that societal mold.
My sculptures represent women through the use of abstract vessels. These vessels depict the womb in various shapes and sizes. The womb is an organ of the female mammal for containing and nourishing the young prior to birth. Like wombs or uteruses, my sculptural forms become vessels or pods which contain cavities or spaces enveloping the specific messages and incorporating the representations into a place in which something is generated. With this idea, each vessel I create represents the specific issue through the use of the abstracted shape of the womb as well as the materials that are infused into each work. It is with these representations that a specific issue gets the needed attention and nurturing in order to educate the viewers.
Some indigenous tribes such as the Pueblos and Hopis of New Mexico and Arizona believe in creation or emergence from the center of the earth. Based on this belief, they create their dwellings to assimilate the sipapu or belly button. I too incorporate this icon through the use of openings within my sculptures.
My sculptures are not closed forms; most are the opposite. I use the visual lightness to incorporate the messages interior or exterior to each form. Some of my womb-like pods are physically interactive or play off dark humor. They often hang to create a floating surreal feeling when viewed. My non-hanging sculptures are meant to throw the view off the comfortable path of denial. They depict a broad range of women’s issues such as addictions, the joys and sorrows of motherhood, and challenging societal stereotypes within our culture that deal with crossing gender lines.
My sculptures portray many issues. Some vessels make blatant statements and some are extremely ambiguous. By the use of symbols or icons my sculptures become quite blatant. Ambiguity plays off the irony and dichotomies created by the use of materials in each sculpture. They are about the necessity of infusion into society, not just tolerance. They are all a celebration of womanhood. They all represent courage.
Debi Smith- 2011